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PERF Officer Safety and Wellness Technical Assistance Project

The physical and emotional wellness of officers is critical to law enforcement agencies. Safety and wellness initiatives can facilitate hiring and retention of officers, improve agency culture, boost resilience in the aftermath of a critical incident, and support community policing. The U.S. Justice Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) has awarded PERF a cooperative agreement to help three law enforcement agencies develop officer safety and wellness programs.

After the three agencies are chosen, PERF and a team of subject matter experts (SMEs) will work with the agency to develop wellness-related needs and goals. PERF and its SMEs will then develop an individualized program, providing each agency with critical policies, practices, resources, information, and hands-on expertise to develop their in-house safety and wellness programs. Each of the three selected sites will agree to establish a primary point of contact who will work directly with the PERF project team to facilitate site visits, document collection, and interviews.

If your agency would like PERF’s assistance with developing in-house officer safety and wellness programs, please contact Senior Research Associate Elizabeth Miller at OSW2018@policeforum.org to request an application. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, but agencies that would like to be considered for selection as the first of three sites must submit their applications by April 6, 2018.

Improving Homicide Investigations Technical Assistance Project

With funding from BJA, PERF will be conducting comprehensive assessments of the homicide investigation functions within six police departments that are experiencing increases in crime. PERF, supported by a team of subject matter experts (SMEs), will undertake these assessments and develop detailed recommendations on how to improve policies, procedures and resources of each of the six police departments’ homicide units. Based on these recommendations, PERF will develop and deliver an individualized training and technical assistance (TTA) program that will provide these agencies with the critical training, policies, resources, information, and hands-on expertise needed to improve their investigative responses to homicides and overall clearance rates. If you are interested in utilizing the services provided under this grant please contact Director of TA, Jessica Toliver at jtoliver@policeforum.org. Selected sites will agree to establish a homicide process review team and primary point of contact who will work directly with the PERF project staff to facilitate site visits, document collection and interviews.

This report details the findings of a forum hosted by PERF and the COPS Office on hiring and retaining officers who reflect the diversity and character of the communities they serve and have the character and social skills to engage with community members. The forum included experts in police standards, screening, and hiring who provided their insights and recommendations in areas such as psychological screening, educational requirements, promotion policies, and methods for retaining the best officers. Click on the headline above to view the full publication.

The year-end edition of PERF's "Subject to Debate" newsletter provides brief summaries of many of the projects that PERF conducted last year, including our landmark work on the "PERF 30" guiding principles on use of force, and our "ICAT" training for defusing critical incidents.

This report summarizes an October 2015 PERF/COPS Office conference on the challenges of policing communities located near military installations. Participants shared promising practices and discussed ways to improve coordination between civilian and military agencies. Click on the headline above to view the full publication.

The Law Enforcement Cyber Center (LECC) continues to be updated with new information to help law enforcement prevent and respond to crimes that involve technology. Recently added content includes an infographic about devices in the home that generate and store data useful to law enforcement, tools police can use to teach their community members how to avoid becoming a victim of cybercrime, and a database of local and regional cybercrime resources available to law enforcement. The Law Enforcement Cyber Center can be accessed at http://www.iacpcybercenter.org/.